Splat the World
by Novarin
Summary: Your classic story about twin squids. One of them loves the rush of turf wars. The other... not so much. What kind of psycho likes exploding every thirty seconds. But when the great zapfish disappears, both are set on a path that will change their lives, maybe for the better, maybe worse.


"Come on, Hook! Why do you have to be so slow?" A young girl stood at the steps of Inkopolis Tower, hands on her hips. Her hair and tentacles were a brilliant bright green. "We're gonna miss the next turf war at this rate!"

A boy with goggles strapped to his head followed, dragging his feet. He had the same colored hair. "Come on, Cari. Do I have to?"

She almost looked offended at the notion. "Are you kidding me?" She scoffed. "Turf Wars are practically the most incredible thing an inkling our age can do?" Hook grimaced at the pun. "Besides, Mom and Dad said we have to stick together. So you're coming with me."

Hook finally caught up and crossed his arms. "I don't see why we have to do what you want to do…"

"Because I'm older."

"By, like, five minutes!"

"Six."

Once again, Hook opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately deciding against it. There was no arguing with his twin sister.

Satisfied, Cari began walking toward the front door as it slid open for them. "Aw, come on, Hooky, it'll be fun."

Hook reached up to adjust the band holding his tentacles up in a pony-tail. "Oh yeah, exploding as people chuck their ink at me is _so_ much fun. And don't call me Hooky."

She chuckled as she stepped into the elevator. "Fine, fine. But trust me. We'll have a great time."

Hook stepped in after her. The door slid shut behind him, leaving them with only the neon lights within. "If it's not, I'm splatting you myself." Cari laughed as the elevator began to rise to the waiting area.

 **くコ** **:** **彡** **Saltspray Rig** **くコ** **:** **彡**

Cari rose from her Squid form and shook out some of the excess ink on her clothes. The rest of her team was right beside her on the Spawn Point, including Hook. The boy looked just as uncomfortable as ever. Somehow, the splattershot Jr. just didn't look right in his hands. He was holding it all wrong. Cari knew her brother would get splatted in an instant. However, that wasn't particularly her problem at the moment.

"Ready guys?" Someone next to her said. It was the other girl on their team, Sal (or something). She was wearing way better gear than either of the twins. Not to mention she held a Splat Charger in her hands. Neither Cari nor Hook were able to get Sheldon to sell them anything yet. This girl was much fresher than them, and it showed.

"More than I'll ever be!" The other boy on their team cheered. He was much closer to the twins' level, holding a splattershot Jr. in his hands as well. However, he still exuded freshness. His name was Hydro or something. Cari had a feeling they'd get shown up in this Turf War. But that didn't mean she wouldn't try her best!

Cari pumped her fist in the air. "Let's kick some Purple butt!"

"Yeah, go team," Hook said. He wasn't anywhere near as motivated as the others. But Cari was sure that would change.

The horn that signaled the countdown to the beginning of the match began. The three members of the team who actually wanted to be there hunkered down, ready to move out. Hook simply stood there. Well, at least he was pointing his gun at something.

Sal counted down for the rest of them. Cari's heart was beating faster than ever.

 **3…2…1… GO!**

The horn blasted. And in an instant, ink was flying. Fervently, Cari pulled the trigger on her Splattershot Jr. Bright green ink spewed forth into the salty air.

"Oh yeah!" She rushed forward, aiming at everything in sight. Unfortunately, that wasn't much. They were on a narrow platform in the middle of the ocean, after all. Much of the ink flew right into the ocean and instantly dissolved.

Cari was quick to reach the end of the platform she started on. Without so much as a moment's hesitation, she jumped down and began firing again on the empty ground. Almost no time passed before she was surrounding in bright green ink. She grinned, admiring her work. "Now this is much easier to move in."

Suddenly, Cari caught a new color out of the corner of her eye. the dark purple ink spraying into the air just a few yards away was hard to miss, even though she couldn't see the source over the ramp. "My first opponent! Can't wait to splat 'em!"

Hook was taking a decidedly more passive approach to the battle. As soon as the horn sounded, he made his way to the area overlooking a part of the rig, spaying a trail of ink along the way. He took care to not leave a single spot clean. A turf war could be won by a 0.1% difference after all. everything counted when Judd was judging.

 _How does he even do that? I swear that guy's not natural._ Hook was suddenly shaken from his thoughts by the sound of a loud **beep** _._ Instantly, he jumped to the side. Just a mere second later, the area he was just standing in was covered in a deep purple ink. _Another second and I would have gotten splatted!_

Standing on the other platform was another inkling, a boy with tentacles that matched his ink. In the other kid's hands was a weapon any inkling would recognize: a splat charger. It seemed that his original plan to shoot from here would have to be put on hold. That weapon could snipe him from far beyond his own range. It would be plain stupid to get to close.

Wisely, Hook turned and ran, shooting his own path through the new layer of purple ink. Just in time too, as another loud **beep** was heard and the back of his shoes suddenly felt stuck to the ground. Hook looked down, seeing that he had only barely missed being struck with a high-pressure cannon-fire of enemy ink. Just a foot away from exploding into purple ink. And that was not something he wished to experience.

For now, Hook continued to shoot over the ground that had been stained by the enemy while he came up with a plan.

Cari quickly shifted her body to that of a squid. Instantly, her entire body changed to a more suitable form. She liked to compare the feeling to being turned into jelly. What was solid was then squishy and much like a liquid. She sunk into the lime-green ink, feeling her own reserves beginning to fill. Being in her own ink was a calming experience, like being surrounded by a warm blanket. Ink of another color was a different experience. More like being in freezing liquid.

The moment the enemy appeared, Cari leaped out from the ink. Shots began pouring from her weapon. She barely even got a look at the other inkling before she was painting the other girl's clothes a new color. Suddenly, two shots pounded into her own chest. Two splotches of purple ink decorated her yellow shirt. But before the other girl could get in any more shots, she overfilled with Cari's ink. Her body exploded, spreading green ink around the spot.

"All right!" Cari cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "My first splat!" Unfortunately, she would get no time to celebrate. She heard a faint **beep** before her body was assaulted with an intense blast. A brief pain overcame her body before she saw purple ink everywhere. The next thing she knew, she was floating up and away. Back toward the checkpoint.

Her now ghostly eyes focused on a purple-tentacled boy high up, but far away. In his hands was a splat charger. _I am so getting him back for that one._

It took quite a while, but the inkling with the charger finally turned around. Hook reasoned he'd given up on trying to shoot him now. Now, he could finally make his move. Running forward, Hook covered area of the walkway before reaching the end. He paused at the edge of the metal. It was a pretty long jump down. But he couldn't just stay up there forever. Steeling his courage, Hook closed his eyes and jumped down.

Only to open them soon after. Hook had simply landed without much more than a slight shudder in his legs. _I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought._ But now was no time to celebrate. He soon heard a familiar sound. He ran behind the boxes nearby for cover. However, nothing came. It was then that he saw Sal jump down from the walkway. There was no one on the opposite side any longer.

"Man, chargers can be such a pain," she said. Sal held her charger by her side. She then grinned at Hook. "Well, get on with it. We've still got a turf war to win."

Still a bit stunned, Hook nodded and continued to fire on the metal ground. It was still bare of ink until they filled it. They were the first ones there. Eventually, it was filled, just in time for someone new to arrive. "Look out below!"

Hook looked up at the sound. Right above him was a new inkling jumping from the walkway. One who was holding a splat roller in his hands. Hook only had a chance to shout in alarm before it hit him. He felt his body being compressed and filled with ink at the same time. It was nearly a second before his body exploded into purple ink.

 **5...4...3...2...1...**

The siren rang out, ending the match. Cari let her splattershot Jr. hang at her side as she looked around at her handiwork. Two splatters of green ink were on either side of her, previously members of the opposite team. She had gotten the hang of things rather quickly after getting splatted the first time, and only blew up twice after that.

"Pretty good, if I say so myself," she said with a grin. She made her way back to the spawn point to await Judd's judgement of the turf war. By the time she arrived, the other members of the team were already there. Hook didn't look nearly as excited as she did, more worn out if anything. She sort of expected this would happen, considering his... problem.

The speakers positioned around the oil rig suddenly blared to life before Cari could say anything. "And the winner is..." Judd's voice echoed about. Cari felt her heart pound as she awaited the news. "Green team!"

Cari's face lit up and she thrust her fist in the air. "All right! We won!" The two more experienced members of the team were just as excited. Well, Sal was a bit more reserved, but Cari could tell just looking at her.

Hook weakly attempted to cheer with them, but honestly looked out of it. He hadn't enjoyed the experience nearly as much as his sister. Who would if they got splatted nearly every time they left the walkway? But he did his best to appear cheerful before they left the stage.

 **くコ** **:** **彡** **Inkopolis** **くコ** **:** **彡**

"Are you sure you don't want to come along again?" Cari asked.

Hook shook his head. "No, I'm just gonna' watch this time. You have fun though." He stepped out of the tower in the center of town.

Cari frowned. "Well, if you want, just come find me again. I'll be here."

"Yeah, I know." The two siblings waved good-bye as the sliding door shut between them. Finally, Hook sighed, relaxing. _I really hated that whole thing._ The turf war was just as he expected it: painful and not fun. He didn't really get why people would put themselves through that.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar jingle drift throughout Booyah base. The huge screens surrounding the plaza came to life as the two resident pop-stars appeared on screen.

"Hold onto your tentacles..." Callie began. The darker-colored inkling held out her hand, starting enthusiastically.

"It's Inkopolis news time!" Marie finished. The white inkling and her sister pointed to the screen behind them.

"Let's unveil today's Regular Battle stages!" At that point, Hook began to lose focus, thinking about going shopping while he waited. _Maybe I have enough for some new sneakers..._

Suddenly, there was a surprised gasp. That drew Hooks attention. Up on the creen, both of the Squid Sisters looked surprised. Hook read the words on the screen, growing more and more surprised.

"Great Zapfish gone?!"

Hook backed away from the tower, staring up at it. Just as they said, the giant eel-like fish that was wrapped around the tower was gone. He hadn't even noticed!

Hook only managed to catch a view of that before the screen's picture changed to a grainy picture of... a UFO? There were UFOs involved now too? Did aliens steal the Great Zapfish or something?

Hook couldn't focus on the rest of the show, along with most of the few inklings wandering about the plaza at the time. By the time it ended, he was still standing there, shocked. Were they going to lose power? What about everything in the city that needed electricity? This was a disaster! Was anyone doing anything about it?

Finally, Hook regained his senses. There was nothing he could do about it. The people in charge would find a solution eventually, right? And- _Is that an old guy peeking out of a sewer grate?_ He now saw a sewer rate near the tower, and sitting in it was an inkling who appeared to be very old. Hook could see from here that he was practically all skin and bone, with a long white beard.

As Hook stared in confusion, the old man eventually turned to face him. Their eyes met, and he immediately ducked back inside.

"H-hey!" Hook stuttered. He scrambled after the man, all the way to the grate. He shouted down into it. "Who are you?" No answer.

"This is crazy," Hook muttered. He lifted the metal grate up, surprised by how light it was. And not smelly either. Maybe it wasn't a sewer after all? But with all caution thrown to the wind, Hook closed his eyes and leapt into the sewer.


End file.
